God has left the building. Well, both of them have gone actually. Australian Test selector David Boon says the team are entering a “mini rebuild” phase, having lost several great players in a hurry.
Opening batsman Matthew Hayden retired last month and other superstars including Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and Glenn McGrath have also departed in the past two years.
Australia’s Test squad of 14 for Thursday’s first Test against South Africa in Johannesburg includes eight players who have played less than five Tests and only four (Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich and Mike Hussey) who have played over 30.
West Australian Mitchell Johnson is the most experienced frontline bowler with 18 Tests.
Australia are sending this inexperienced bunch into a crucial three-Test series in which defeat would hand the Proteas the No.1 Test ranking.
“History says the wheel turns and we’ve seen it with the West Indies and we’ve seen it with England but I think Australia is in a far stronger and has a greater base for us to restrict that,” Boon said on Monday.
“I know everybody harks on it but when you do lose five or six great players over a shortish period of time its difficult and when one’s Warne and one’s Gilchrist, that’s in God status and you are not ever going to replace that.”
Australia’s selection decisions puzzled fans during the summer, with injured bowlers getting a game, spinners coming and going, and controversy surrounding the every move of Andrew Symonds.
“Some of the criticism of performance has been justified some not,” Boon said.
“It hasn’t taken into consideration, I would call it a mini rebuild. It’s nothing like we experienced in the early 80s.”
Boon says when he was playing in the 1980s in the dark days, selectors took the decision to stick with a core group of players, including himself, Steve Waugh and Craig McDermott.
“We knew if we missed we weren’t going to be flicked and I think it built everything really well through,” the 107-Test veteran said.
“It gave Billy (McDermott) the chance to improve as a 19-year-old bowler, Steve was very up and down through those formative years.
“But they stuck with him because everybody knew there was talent there.
“I opened and then went back to three when Tubby (Mark Taylor) came in. We stuck together and I think we are going to do the same here.
“The public have got to understand that is what is happening, we are going to win a couple, maybe lose one, who knows.
“We have young players who are going to step up to the mark and do really well as long as we are patient.”
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